on our broadcast tonight, radiation in milk. the latest evidence of the japan disaster in this country. but is it enough to worry about? on the ground. president obama says he won't allow american boots on the ground in libya, but the cia is there. also what it means now that nato is running the show. extreme weather. extreme enough to flip planes upside down in the south and in the northeast here comes a serious winter storm. and making a difference. why this kid's choir gets a standing ovation every time out. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. for weeks now we've been covering the nuclear disaster in japan, and not only the damage and suffering there, but the slow and inevitable drift of radiation into the atmosphere and landing here. so far it's been detected in 15 states across the u.s., all the way from the west coast to the east, and all the while we've been told these are minute, trace amounts that pose no harm to any of us. but now the epa says traces of radiation have been found in milk. again, they say, far below levels of public health concern, but that won't stop some public concern. it's where we begin tonight with nbc's tom costello in washington. tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. the u.s. has already halted imports of dairy products and produce from japan, but radiation travels in the air, it falls on pastures and meadows and it appears to have been

consumed already by american cows. 4700 miles from the nuclear disaster in japan, the faintest hints of radiation have now turned up in america's milk supply. trace amounts of radioactive iodine 131 found in samples taken from california on march 28th and washington state on march 25th. but levels so low the epa says a sample taken from spokane would have to be 5,000 times higher to reach levels at which the fda would intervene. >> for parents out there, this is a speck of dust. you should not worry about it. the worry itself will be far worse than the dust of radiation we're talking about. >> reporter: the radiation most likely blew in from japan, fell over the countryside and was consumed by cows. still, despite the assurances, some skeptical parents are concerned. >> when they tell me not to worry about anything, i probably wouldn't trust it completely. you can't really trust anything these days. >> reporter: earlier this week the epa reported it had found very low levels of radiation in

the air over hawaii, alaska, california, washington state, idaho, nevada, even alabama. but it urged americans to keep it all in context saying, quote, radiation is all around us in our daily lives and these findings are a minuscule amount compared to what people experience every day. >> we're seeing potential levels that are perhaps 100,000 or even a million below any level of concern. our system monitors the air continuously in the united states. >> reporter: still nuclear opponents say it's all a concern. >> since we're at the end of the food chain, you know, it represents a risk if these amounts continue to rise. >> reporter: iodine 131 has a very short half-life, only about eight days, which means it loses half its strength every eight days or so. we're reminded again today that just flying in an airplane or standing out in the sun exposes us to radiation every day. brian. >> tom costello starting us off in our d.c. studios. tom, thanks. in japan today, still more

unsettling news there. international atomic energy authorities warn that japan's evacuation zone around the nuclear plant may not be an area large enough, and that's something you'll recall experts in this country have been saying from the start. nbc's lee cowan reports again tonight for us from tokyo. >> reporter: just how far away is far enough? that's a question residents living near the stricken nuclear plant ask every day, and the answer seems to keep changing. new tests done by the international atomic energy agency show that high levels of radiation have been found in the soil some 25 miles away from the plant. that's far beyond the area currently under evacuation. >> the situation continue to be very serious. >> reporter: officials say the levels aren't high enough to cause acute radiation illness, they do exceed the standards designed to cut the risk of cancer. japan's government spokesman said today that they are taking

the iaea's findings under advisement but have no immediate plans to widen the evacuation zone. still, the iaea isn't the only group sounding the alarm. greenpeace says that it too found enough radiation outside the evacuation zone to warrant concern, but were told by the japanese government that its measurements weren't credible. that's the environment that french president nicolas sarkozy arrived in today, as the first diplomat to visit japan since the crisis started. he offered not only his country's technical expertise but called for new international safety standards for nuclear plants in the wake of a disaster. but it all seems too little too late for those who can't even bury their dead. bodies inside the evacuation zone have yet to be recovered out of fears of radioactive contamination, making what has already become a ghost town that much more unsettling.

lee cowan, nbc news, tokyo. now to the other front we've been covering, and that's libya, where nato is now officially in charge of the air operation, providing cover for the rebel forces fighting gadhafi. but the reality here is america is still very much involved, not only in the management of nato, not only in the air, but on the ground in ways we are now learning more about. nbc's richard engel with us again tonight from the rebel-held city of benghazi. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the cia has sent small teams here to work with the opposition and also provide intelligence. and on the ground we're seeing signs from the rebels themselves that they are finally determined to stop retreating and take on gadhafi's forces. the rebels today took on gadhafi's troops without western air support. the rebels fight with mortars and rockets.

they lack experience. rebels load a rocket, it doesn't go off. after adjusting it, the rocket eventually fires, but way off target. moments later, gadhafi's troops fire back. there's chaos. some of the rebels retreat to safer ground, but not all of them. the rebels are firing mortars and rockets at gadhafi's forces, which are just behind them. gadhafi's troops are responding with what sounded like tanks and artillery shells. but for the first time here we're seeing that the rebels are staying their ground. near the front, an argument. one rebel is so angry that the others want to run away, he fires his gun at their feet. they stay and bring in reinforcements. on the road we see a convoy of weapons, including dozens of what look like new rocket launchers, heading out to confront gadhafi's troops. but there may be a quicker way to topple the libyan dictator, an internal coup. yesterday libya's foreign

minister and former intelligence chief, moussa koussa, the most powerful man in the regime outside the gadhafi family, defected to the united kingdom, a choice welcomed today by the british foreign minister. >> gadhafi must be asking himself who will be the next to abandon him. >> reporter: in tripoli, a government spokesman downplayed the significance of koussa's departure. >> i'm not relying on individuals to lead the struggle. this is the struggle of a whole nation. >> reporter: accused of involvement in the lockerbie bombing and the assassination of dissidents, koussa was not given immunity, but he has a wealth of current intelligence, and he's talking. u.s. intelligence officials tell nbc news that the preferred outcome in this conflict isn't a military victory by the rebels, but a power shift in tripoli. brian. >> richard engel in benghazi again tonight after a day with the rebels. richard, thanks. as we've just seen in richard's reporting, it's clear the rebels need help to hold off

gadhafi's forces, but for the obama administration, the question here is how much more help to give them. white house correspondent savannah guthrie with us from the white house tonight with more on that front. savannah, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. there is a vigorous debate raging within the administration over whether to arm the opposition. that's one reason cia operatives are on the ground, to learn more about these rebels and where their allegiances lie. meanwhile, on capitol hill, the defense secretary and chairman of the joint chiefs were grilled today by lawmakers. some hammered the administration for not simply taking out gadhafi. others said the u.s. had handed over command at the very moment the rebels needed help the most. and as for this issue of arming the opposition, u.s. officials say it's not as easy as it sounds. it's not a matter of just air dropping weapons in. you'd have to train them. you'd need some sort of staging area to train those rebels and that comes very close to the president's bright line of no u.s. ground troops in libya,

something the defense secretary echoed today. >> do you know if there's any time in the future that there are going to be boots on the ground in libya? >> not as long as i'm in this job. >> reporter: gates said as far as he is concerned, some other country can arm the rebels. brian. >> all right, savannah guthrie at the white house tonight. savannah, thanks. extreme weather in the news tonight, from florida all the way north to maine. a late-morning storm blew into central florida this morning with dark skies, fierce winds, driving rain, and reports of numerous tornados. roofs were blown off in south tampa, small planes flipped over at an air show. at the kennedy space center, torrential rains and reports of hail hitting the shuttle "endeavour" parked on the launch pad. believe it or not, parts of the northeast are preparing for snow, in some places lots of it, on april 1st. meteorologist chris warren with us tonight from the weather channel. chris, what have you cooked up this time? >> reporter: brian, we are

watching a strong spring storm, and it is bearing down on the northeast. it's going to bring heavy snow, a lot of rain and some very strong winds, leading possibly to power outages and some travel concerns. the satellite/radar, show where the clouds and rain are right now showing a very disorganized system, but it will be taking shape. it will be coming together tonight into tomorrow. when it's all said and done, this is what we're looking at. in some places, like in concord, a foot to a foot and a half of snow. in hartford, connecticut, 5 to 8 inches. brian, the thing is, even though the big cities are going to be seeing just regular old rain for the most part, you don't have to go very far to where people will be shoveling the snow. >> chris warren, part of our unbelievable spring coverage of 2011. chris, thanks. the news is still reverberating this week after last week's page one story in "the new york times" saying general electric, a part owner of nbc universal, paid no federal taxes last year. ge chairman, jeff immelt, who's been under heavy fire for days,

talked about taxes to business leaders in washington today, laying out his company's defense. nbc's lisa myers in our washington newsroom tonight has more on this. lisa, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. as you said, this controversy began when "the new york times" reported that despite $14 billion in worldwide profits last year, general electric paid no federal income taxes for that year. in fact it got a $3 billion tax credit. that has created an uproar. two liberal groups have demanded that ceo jeff immelt resign as chairman of the president's new council on jobs and competitiveness. they have started a petition saying if immelt won't resign, the president should fire him. they say one of america's biggest corporate tax dodgers should not lead the effort to create jobs. today immelt defended ge saying taxes were unusually low in the last two years because of losses during the financial crisis.

>> we lost $32 billion in ge capital as a result of the global financial crisis. our tax rate will be much higher in 2011 as ge capital recovers. like any american, we do like to keep our tax rate low. but we do it in a compliant way, and there are no exceptions. >> reporter: immelt said that everyone should pay their fair share of taxes, including ge, and the corporate tax code needs to be reformed to make it more competitive and eliminate loopholes. also, brian, immelt says he does not intend to resign from the president's council on jobs. >> lisa myers in our washington newsroom tonight. lisa, thanks. we told you earlier this week here the government was taking a new look at a possible link between hyperactivity in children and food dyes, artificial coloring in food and beverages. today an fda panel basically left parents on their own here. the experts said there's just not enough hard evidence to prove a link or to require

warnings on food packaging. but the panel did recommend further study on this. when nightly news continues on this thursday, on this opening day for major league baseball, a drama off the field in a san francisco courtroom. and making a difference, tapping into the talents of every young person with a tune.

this is opening day for major league baseball, but today there's also a major distraction going on inside a san francisco courtroom, taking attention away from the field. barry bonds, a seven-time mvp and home run king, is on trial for perjury in a scandal involving his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. nbc's miguel almaguer has been following the trial and with us tonight from dodgers stadium in los angeles. miguel, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. finally opening day. dodgers versus giants, after a long winter and a bad week for

baseball marred by steroid woes. baseball's home run king, barry bonds, in federal court, accused of perjury for telling a grand jury he never knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs. bonds contends he never lied. >> the barry bonds scenario is almost like a shakespearian tragedy. >> reporter: as a player, prosecutors say bonds underwent a freakish transformation, showing clear signs of steroid use. his rookie year, a slender bonds weighed 185 pounds. as he shattered records, he became a regular on magazine covers, making baseball history. 21 years later, at the height of his career, bonds weighed 240 pounds, a visibly different man. bonds' hat size had grown a quarter of an inch according to the giants equipment manager, and it's written his jersey ballooned from a size 42 to 52. his cleats from a size 10 1/2 to

13. the testimony has been graphic and personal. an ex-mistress, kimberly bell, testified bonds told her he used steroids as early as 1999. quote, players use steroids to get ahead. prosecutors had an all-star lineup of major leaguers to testify. jason and jeremy giambi admitted they bought steroids from greg anderson, bonds' personal trainer. next week, bonds' legal team begins their defense, trying to keep him out of prison. >> the first pitch of the season. >> reporter: but today, a new season. >> opening day is truly new year's day and people are thrilled to get the season started again, especially in the cities where they have been digging themselves out from a long, hard winter. >> reporter: this week snow fell in 13 major league cities. that first pitch in new york, it was 43 degrees. here in los angeles at game time, 87. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los

angeles. some hopeful news to report tonight on the health front for women. for the first time women's death rates from lung cancer are down. it's a small decline, reported in the nation's annual report on cancer, but every little bit helps, of course. lung cancer remains, by the way, the nation's and the world's leading cancer killer. geraldine ferraro was eulogized today as a trail blazer, a mother, a friend, at a funeral service attended by several dignitaries, including former president bill clinton, his wife, the secretary of state hillary clinton, and the man who chose ferraro as his vice presidential running mate back in '84, walter mondale. ferraro died over the weekend of multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. she was 75 years old. when we come back here tonight, a prominent name in the news going without a wedding band, and news from here in new york that has a whole lot of new yorkers breathing easier now.

well, the big story tonight here in new york on local news, the snake has been found. it was six days ago that officials at the bronx zoo made a somewhat alarming revelation. they couldn't find a two foot long egyptian cobra. there was a feverish search. it actually received worldwide news coverage. even a closely followed fake snake twitter feed. and today relieved zoo officials announced that they had found her coiled in a dark and secluded corner of a non-public

area of the zoo's house of reptiles. caught at 9:00 a.m. this morning using tongs and something resembling a golf club we're told. a curiosity out of england today that got a lot of folks talking on the web. prince william will not wear a wedding ring after his marriage to kate middleton. while most men in the royal family have traditionally worn wedding bands, palace officials say this is a matter of personal preference entirely. the truth is, of course, he'll be among the most famous and recognizable married men in the world, severely limiting his ability to pass himself off as a single guy at the bar at the airport radisson, even if he wanted to. up next here tonight, we have a nice note to end on tonight. our "making a difference" report.

in our "making a difference" report tonight, not just the love of music, but also a unique way of helping people of all abilities find their voice. our story tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles. it comes from the northern suburbs of chicago.

♪ >> reporter: in this class, the love of music is equaled only by the compassion these kids share for one another. >> when we see the smile and we see him dancing, you know, that's just the best part. >> reporter: they're all members of the high five choir at new trier high school north of chicago. while some of the kids are living with developmental disabilities, none of that matters. here they are differently able. >> the bigger picture is for young people to go out into this world and to just see people for who they are from the inside, regardless of the packaging that we're given on the outside. >> reporter: the students, who receive credit for participating, are paired off and communicate verbally by signing even electronically. >> you'll have more than you'll ever need. >> does it make you happy to sing?

>> happy sing. >> those small moments really make such a big impact in our lives. ♪ we stay together and we see it through ♪ ♪ you've got a friend in me >> nice job. >> reporter: but what is perhaps most important here is that the learning goes both ways. >> he's taught me how to really interact with other people on a new level for me. >> you come in and you let down your guard and you see other people respond to that in a really great way. >> did they teach you anything? >> yes. >> reporter: whenever there's a major public performance, like the spring concert, backstage is abuzz with anticipation. >> you've got a friend in me. >> reporter: new friends, good friends. now that's worth a standing ovation. >> thank you. >> reporter: kevin tibbles, nbc news, winnetka, illinois.

and that's our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we, of course, hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now at 6:00, smart meters on the sly. some people living in capitola say pg&e pulled a fast one while they were dealing with an emergency. >> plus, defending the bad. san francisco's new police chief responds to allegations that his officers didn't follow the law. he says they did nothing wrong and he takes a swipe at the public defender. and happy new year. it's the season opener for the giants. the game in los angeles, so why are so many people going to at&t park tonight?